Future of a Post-Covid Education Sector

Lise Foster, Associate Director of IT Services, University of the Arts London

What are the challenges and trends that have been impacting the IT services base lately?

As we all know, one of the major challenges of the current decade was the COVID-19 pandemic. Without any doubt, it has brought major changes to the education sector including the ways classes and lectures are taken, ways exams are conducted and ways pupils interact and communicate with the institutional authorities. However, battling those challenges has led to a few positive aspects too. Education institutions are able to streamline their decision making as everything has become digital now. Since every piece of information is easily available and accessible online, the process of turning an idea from a prototype to a running service is more of an effortless task now.

That being said, there are still a few challenges put forward by this whole virtual way of education. In certain cases, for instance, in art schools, the teaching/learning includes workshops that require students and teachers to be available on the site for understanding the concepts in-depth. Since there are restrictions for such activities now, the effectiveness of online workshops is in question. In addition, students are not able to use the on-campus resources for their projects which is now an issue to be solved.

At the same time, effective communication with the students is also a concern. Institutions are continuously seeking answers for questions like how are the leaners connecting to institutions? What is their experience? Is that experience comparable across students wherever in the world they are? Since arts schools demand a specific learning environment, I say, the new normal certainly brings some tough challenges. But the good news is, technology has evolved enough to help tackle such issues.

What do you think are the necessary steps various educational institutions should undertake to address the above-mentioned challenges?

As I elaborated above, educational institutions are trying to find a solution for bridging the gap for students to access the on-campus resources. Before explaining my points, I would like to stress the fact that remote culture (learning/teaching) is here to stay. Considering the benefits of this model, there will be a major shift in favour of remote education. So institutions need to prep themselves to accommodate those needs as well. In my opinion, institutions should consider ways to provision all required equipment and software and tools and also provide proper training for support teams, students and the faculty. There must be a balance of how spaces are used on and off-campus. A perfect blend of both the virtual and physical world. Institutions should come up with creative ways to make this concept a reality and handle the obstacles and consequences that follow.

What are some of the challenges that educational institutions have to face with implementing technological applications into their operational workflow?

In my point of view, the issues will be around technical debt where the temporary measures taken might cause further complications resulting in additional works. These debts will build over time because a project may have to drop something from its scope and it hasn't been able to deliver something. In addition, the lack of technical expertise may lead to unfinished business where a proper replacement cannot be found in time and therefore forcing to rely on the traditional ways of operations. Unfortunately, this adds pressure to the staff. The workloads increases as the employees are spending time on new activities and tasks while conflicting with their original priorities. This leads to another challenge around staffing and recruitment. There is a huge demand for people that possess both technical and academic skills. This has resulted in competition among the private and public sectors. The public sector used to pay less when compared to the private sector but the current demand for expertise have forced them to increase their standards in order to attract the right talent. I also recommend seeking support from partners when a staff shortage occurs. These people will deliver services suitable for the business helps to continue the work despite the hurdles.

Another important factor is security. Multiple incidents have shown that universities often have to deal with extreme security issues. There is a great need of keeping a close eye on possible risks in the higher education landscape because students often come up with disruptive ideas to question the system. The people that are associated with these institutions should be able to do their academics and research under the radar without posing any threats. However, it is quite difficult to establish a balance in such scenarios.

When it comes to the future of the IT service space in education or in the education sector itself, what would you say are some of the trends that excite you for the future?

Data is the future! It is a known fact that data is the core running factor for many sectors. The role of data in today’s business world is undeniable and its significance will continue to grow. Similarly, the education sector is also being swept by the trend of a data-driven approach where information on student progress, challenges, recruitment and focal areas are analysed and determined effectively. The sector is also pacing towards a more personalized and automated operational way which will ensure efficiency.

Consequently, there has been a big shift in terms of the skills that are expected from the next generation of recruits. As I mentioned above, a combination of technical expertise with academic excellence is anticipated from future talents which make them able to handle the hybrid nature of tomorrow’s education sector. At the same time, institutions should be able to provide an excellent infrastructure for their students. Whether it is a physical campus or an online structure, efforts must be put in order to offer a smooth and effective experience. I would like to add the points of network connectivity and cybersecurity – the two most important aspects of a future technology-driven education landscape. Modern and powerful tools and strategies should be implemented to ensure faster and stable connectivity and improved cybersecurity.

Based on your experience in the IT service space, what is your advice to the budding educators or even evolving schools, on how they can streamline their businesses?

My advice is to have an active conversation with your learners or people. It is all about listening and understanding what people are up to and what they are expecting from you. It is about creating a partnership with your people rather than a client-supplier relationship. It is also important to keep up to date with the innovations happening in the sector. Only then you will be able to deliver what your people came to you looking for in the first place.